Nick Dunning Movies

Two-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep steps into the role of English prime minister Margaret Thatcher in this biopic from director Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!), and screenwriter Abi Morgan (Tsunami: The Aftermath, Brick Lane). Jim Broadbent, Richard E. Grant, and Anthony Head co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

The Tudors presents the rarely dramatized, tumultuous early years of King Henry VIII's nearly 40 year, omnipotent reign (1509-1547). In addition to his famous female consorts and 20+ year marriage to Catherine of Aragon to the infamous dalliance with Anne Boleyn, the series delves in to Henry's most notable political relationship and the deconstruction of the Roman Catholic Church in England.

After chronicling various chapters of Irish history in such films as In the Name of the Father and The Field, writer/director Jim Sheridan turns his lens upon his own family's experiences immigrating to the United States in the aptly titled In America. The loosely autobiographical script centers on Johnny (Paddy Considine), a young actor sneaking his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton), and daughters, Christy and Ariel (real-life sisters Sarah and Emma Bolger, respectively), over the Canadian border in the hopes of jump-starting his career in New York City. They soon find that America is not the land of boundless opportunity, however, as they move into a dank, dilapidated apartment building populated by drug dealers, transients, and thugs. Johnny doesn't snag auditions as easily as he may have hoped, and he and Sarah are forced to take meager jobs after spending their savings on food, rent, and utilities. Still in grief over the untimely death of their toddler son back in Ireland, the couple find their relationship further strained by the pressures of life in the city. Little by little, however, things begin to look up for the fiercely protective family unit, especially when they befriend an eccentric artist neighbor named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou). In America saw its world premiere at the 2002 Toronto International Film Festival and played to enthusiastic crowds at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival before its theatrical release in the fall of that year. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

Screenwriter Hanif Kureishi marked his directorial debut in this slice-of-life chronicle about a collection of drug-dealing slackers in London. Centering on a band of delinquents calling themselves "the posse," the group is led by an ambitious male hustler named Muffdiver (Steven Mackintosh). His friend, Mr. Clint Eastwood (Justin Chadwick), begins to wonder about Muffdiver when he announces that he will no longer sell drugs for the gang. But soon Clint is wondering about himself, and after being beaten and stripped naked, he decides to go legitimate and look for a real job. He applies to a chic restaurant for a job as a waiter. The owner, Hemingway (Brad Dourif), promises to hire him if he comes back to the restaurant wearing a good pair of shoes. Obsessed with landing the job, he tries any way he can to get the pair of shoes. Impressed by the efforts of Clint and Muffdiver to get normal jobs, Sylvie (Emer McCourt), a drug addict who lives with the two, is inspired to leave the street life behind herself and pursue a more ordinary vocation. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

In his psychological drama, two couples on a boating holiday get in over their heads when a stranger decides to put them through a terrorizing adventure cloaked in psychotherapeutic language. At first they think his strange methods may be legitimate, but eventually they realize they are battling a madman for their lives -- and losing. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi